Lieutenant James Hadden, a British officer during the American Revolutionary War, mistakenly suggested that Fourteen Mile Island, a small island off the coast of Shelving Rock, was so named because it was fourteen miles from Fort George, but it isn’t quite that far. The Island has had other names in the past, among them are Beardsley’s and Kenesaw Island.

The Fourteen Mile Island House started as a lodge for sportsmen and grew to accommodate up to forty guests. In 1890, the Delaware and Hudson Company constructed a pier on the east side of the Island. Tragedy struck when the steamer Rachel crashed nearby, killing twelve guests that were on their way to the Island for a dance in 1893.